The ECB have refuted the idea that England "have been hanging on to excuses" as suggested in Australian coach John Buchanan's leaked memo.

In an attempt to counter the accusation that England were hiding behind "injuries, toss, bad luck, dropped catches" as outlined in the memo, ECB spokesman Andrew Walpole insisted: "The players have been very open and frank about their performances in the last two Test matches, I don't believe players have sought to make excuses talking to the media.

"During the Lord's Test a number of players spoke to the press and were very honest that the catching, for example, wasn't as good as it had been in the winter, when we were a very sharp fielding side.

"When we've been asked questions about issues such as the toss - clearly it's a factor when we've lost nine tosses in a row - it's going to get mentioned. There's no concerted attempt on behalf of the players to make excuses," he continued.

"If you go back through the press conferences Duncan Fletcher, David Graveney, Mike Atherton when he's been captain, they have all said we are not going to use injuries as an excuse."

Far from being embarrassed by the contents of the memo, Buchanan freely admitted the whole incident. Indeed it is possible the episode was premeditated.

"I put material under the door of the players and it seems I put material under the door of the media at the same stage," he conceded. "I don't see that it's a mistake, it's just unfortunate that somehow it escaped our normal channels."

Buchanan accepted that his memos had gone astray before, but defended his comments.

"In the end I guess that sort of thing has happened to me to before, so I'm quite aware of the possibility. In this case some information has found its way elsewhere. That's really up to the England camp to work out what it means, if it means anything.

"Most of the time I deliver them myself, in some cases I don't. On tour we've got to rely on people photocopying information for us and circulating it. It's always in the back of my mind that it might sneak out, not as though I want it to happen.

"All it's intended to do is focus our attention not only on this game but the end of the series, and beyond this series," he explained.

"If you read the passage, it does refer to the comment that England players and the management have made about injuries and toss, and back luck and so on.

"In the end we are in a better position, or a more comfortable position and therefore it is difficult when you are not winning games and you are trying to assess why that's not the case. It really depends on what credence that a team wants to place on the information they have in front of them."

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